Course catalogue

This course explains how cost accounting helps organizations accurately predict the cost of providing services. It presents an overview of activity-based costing and describes how to develop and analyze cost information by product line. In addition, the course describes methods and benefits of developing a standard costing system, as well as variable and fixed costs and presents four types of cost behaviors. The course also includes the basic concepts of price variance, volume variance and efficiency variance. Estimated course completion time: 45 minutes Learning Objectives After completing this course, you will be able to: Define the term contribution margin. Define the term break-even point. Define the term overhead. Identify the purpose of activity-based costing. Identify the three main types of standards costs. Recognize the four types of individual cost behaviors. Identify the three principal types of expense variance.

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, you will be able to:

• Define the term contribution margin.
• Define the term break-even point.
• Define the term overhead.
• Identify the purpose of activity-based costing.
• Identify the three main types of standards costs.
• Recognize the four types of individual cost behaviors.
• Identify the three principal types of expense variance.

Seventy-eight percent of healthcare finance leaders say manual AP processes hurt cash flow visibility. If invoice chaos and payment uncertainty keep you up at night, it’s time for a smarter approach. This webinar reveals how leading healthcare organizations have flipped the script—turning AP from a cost center into a strategic revenue engine. Discover how modernizing outdated payment methods can unlock hidden rebates, reduce fraud risk, and strengthen compliance. Join us to uncover the financial clarity your organization needs in 2025 and beyond.

Original Live Webinar Date: May 20, 2025

• Implement a strategic payment mix that vendors actually prefer while maximizing your financial returns
• Transform your AP team from transaction processors to strategic financial partners
• Enhance payment security and compliance while gaining real-time visibility into organizational cash flow
• Develop a framework for calculating and maximizing rebate opportunities across your vendor ecosystem
• Build a road map for measuring and communicating AP's contribution to your organization's bottom line

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Revenue cycle management is at a critical juncture. While a 2025 survey shows 67% of health systems improved financial performance, 53% expect a decline without strategic changes. This dynamic presents an urgent need for new strategies to maintain financial stability. Join us for an exclusive webinar unveiling key findings from Savista's RCM Benchmark Survey. In addition to unpacking the survey findings, this session features a discussion with two distinguished RCM leaders from major health systems, offering practical insights from the front line.

Original Live Webinar Date: November 4, 2025

• Address persistent challenges, including workforce shortages, rising denials and aging accounts receivable
• Implement innovative hybrid operating models that blend in-house teams, strategic outsourcing and technology
• Understand ways to leverage automation and AI to enhance efficiency and drive financial performance
• Apply actionable strategies grounded in both extensive industry data and real-world experience

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A recent survey conducted by HFMA, sponsored by Solventum, revealed that more than one-third of healthcare organizations lose at least $1 million annually to documentation and coding discrepancies, yet only 9% feel confident they're capturing all entitled revenue. Many see AI and automation as part of the solution, but cost, IT resources and security remain significant barriers. In this webinar, Solventum subject-matter experts will share how leading organizations are moving from retrospective fixes to prospective workflows by applying AI to coding, CDI and denial management with the right level of human oversight.

Original Live Webinar Date: October 16, 2025

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Health systems across the country are turning to AI to ease provider burden, improve clinical documentation, and strengthen financial performance. But how does this actually work in practice? Join us for an in-depth webinar on how The University of Iowa Health Care implemented AI to improve provider wellness—and discovered unexpected benefits, including improved clinical documentation integrity (CDI) and increased reimbursement. With this new way of utilizing data, better outcomes and reimbursement are available to health systems leveraging this technology. This session will look specifically at artificial intelligence of this nature and how it impacts coding, CDI, reimbursement, claims denials and provider documentation.

Original Live Webinar Date: May 8, 2025

• Discover how AI-powered solutions are streamlining workflows and giving providers more time for what matters most
• Observe how AI assists in capturing essential quality measures, flagging missing documentation, and reducing human errors
• Find out how AI reduces retrospective queries and improves coding accuracy
• Learn how AI-driven CDI and coding support improve financial performance without adding work for providers

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Healthcare organizations saw some of the greatest impacts during the pandemic, but many have yet to realize the full potential of the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), released under the CARES Act. This webinar will review how healthcare facilities can claim the ERC before the program ends in 2025. Attendees will discover the truth behind common misconceptions about the ERC and gain a comprehensive understanding of eligibility requirements. The Employee Retention Credit filing deadline is April 15th, 2025. There are less than two months to file. If you have not filed or believe you are ineligible, this webinar is for you!

Original Live Webinar Date: March 4, 2025

• Gain an understanding of the Employee Retention Credit basics
• Learn the eligibility requirements for healthcare facilities
• Discover the truth behind common misconceptions
• Understand what to look out for in an advisory

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Healthcare is one of the epicenters of fraud activity in the United States, given both the huge volume of transactions and sensitive patient data for bad actors to target. For healthcare organizations, protecting payments and critical information is both difficult and important. Join Katie Elliott, Bottomline's fraud expert, as she outlines the scope of the problem in healthcare, emerging fraud schemes to be aware of, and how to fight back to keep fraud at bay in your own business.

Original Live Webinar Date: June 5, 2025

• Common-sense tips for avoiding the most common fraud schemes impacting healthcare
• Ways to secure your finance function against fraud, both internally and externally 
• The value of making payments and authenticating vendors through a secure network, and how to do so

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Managing employees who work in different locations or from home has become a key leadership skill. While many of the same leadership skills apply to leading on-site staff, implementing them in remote management requires adjustment and fine-tuning. This course will help you understand the challenges and best practices associated with leading remote teams. By the end of this course, you will have practical strategies to build trust, deliver effective feedback, foster engagement, and recognize the contributions of remote employees, leading to more cohesive and successful remote and hybrid teams.

Learning Objectives

• Recognize common obstacles faced when leading remote employees.
• Identify strategies for establishing trust with remote employees.
• Develop skills for delivering feedback effectively in a remote setting.
• Explore strategies for maximizing engagement and participation in virtual employee meetings.
• Develop techniques for recognizing and rewarding remote employees' contributions.

CPE Information

CPE Award Amount: 1.0
Program Level: Basic
Program Prerequisite: None
Recommended Experience: Mid-level managers, directors or other individuals who have leadership responsibility within healthcare delivery
Advanced Preparation: None
Instructional Method: QAS Self-Study
Delivery Method: QAS Self-Study
Field of Study and Topic in hours: Specialized Knowledge - 1.0

CPE Sponsor: Healthcare Financial Management Association is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.

For more information regarding refund policies, as well as any program concerns, please contact our offices at 800.252.4362 or, inquiry@hfma.org.

This course presents a big picture overview of the evolution of healthcare services delivery and payment. It highlights the healthcare transformations including the shift from volume to value, quality, payment satisfaction, competition on costs and the evolution of the payment system. Attention is given to the changing roles of managers in healthcare finance. 

Currently making up almost 20 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product, healthcare in the U.S. will be a significant factor in the national economy for the foreseeable future. This section will discuss the following topics as they relate to the big picture of healthcare.

Learning Objectives